Media Tie-in Fantasy

What is Media Tie-in Fantasy?

An absolutely huge sub-genre that has its own professional organization, the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers (not a strictly fantasy organaztion, mind you). The sub-genre is composed of books that are based on stories in other media: television, movies, games, comic books, etc. It is a sub-genre that allows fans to delve even deeper into a fantasy world. This sub-genre has two sides: the publishing grab for money and the creation of stories that bind together an already awesome and engaging fantasy world.

The publishing grab, the strapped for cash writer, and the quick turn-around time of many of these books have given Media Tie-in an unsavory reputation. The sub-genre has even been called hack writing. However, there is something to be said for the enthusiasm of fans who just want to delve deeper into the fantasy world. As well as the writers who contribute to that world by adding their own voice.

Crafting a Media Tie-in story has many constraints—writers are working with already realized characters, so they can't exactly reinvent them; there is already a history and sometimes a future already laid out, so continuity is a big component. These constraints can mean a wholly unoriginal story or they could inspire a story of awesomeness.

Other Features of Media Tie-in Fantasy

Meda Tie-In Fantasy is really just a publishing tool. It captalizes on the interest of Fantasy in other formats and as such does not have any real defining features. The types of characters, plots, and magic systems are based on the original story, whatever it may have been. As such, the features of these stories vary widely.

The feature that makes Media Tie-ins unique is the shared experience. The universe has already been established, which gives writers more room to craft their own contribution to the canon. Storytelling is a communal and interactive effort between all the contributing writers, with the original creator, and with the readers---truly something to be shared

Related Fantasy Subgenres

All the sub-genres!

Specifically though, because much of Media Tie-in Fantasy is serial (novelizations are a notable exception) the sub-genre is very much linked to Series Fantasy. Seriously, check out how many Buffy novels there are at your local bookstore—shelves!

Media Tie-in Fantasy Isn’t For You If...

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If you're looking for an original story. If you're looking for deviations from the original story that introduce signficant changes to characters. Media Tie-Ins do not deviate from the already established canon.